Category Archives: Letters

Dear Sir,

Around 10 a.m. on September 16, when I go off a bus opposite the G.P.O, a middle aged respectable Sindhi, clad in simple white4 clothes, cheerfully approached me, shook hands and then, warmly pressing my right hand with both his hands closed his eyes for a few seconds and enquired of me, Achha Hae! (how do you do)? I was naturally somewhat surprised by this affectionate treatment form a stranger. I had not experienced anything like this during my three day’s stay in Karachi. On inquiry, he told me hat his son was fighting on the Kashmir front; he wished “victorious joy” for one, and all the jawans fighting for the motherland. We should indeed thank India for having served us in many ways through her invasion, one of which is that crude and selfish slogans like Sind for Sindhi and Punjab for Punjabi-speaking have suddenly vanished. “Pakistan for Pakistanis” is our only slogan now. It is high time o give, once again, a practical shape to the noble words uttered in the days of our patriotic leaders: “Who lives if Pakistan dies; who dies if Pakistan lives?”

Yours faithfully.

Dear Sir,

In modern time bureaucracy has acquired many forms. When any responsive or say responsible, Government finds that the people can’t do something well, it steps in and does it worse. Anyway it does it, that’s a the chief thing. A Brooklyn citizen the other day voiced and odd kind of protest against an obviously responsive local authority. It seems New York city recently appropriated $675.000 for 5000 trees, or about $135 at tree: and the citizen wailed: “I had a tree planted for & 35 in front of my house. Why does it cost the city $100 more? The poor Ignormus does not know the was of a bureaucrat, obviously: else the would have instantly understood a tree costs much more when bought or acquired by a government authority than when planted by a private individual. The prosscess is by no means simple. Estimates have to be called for. Tenders have to be invited, decisions on them taken, paper work and files field: and all the time the bills keep going up. Time as everyone knows, is a kind of money and since every official uses plenty of it the final bill will have little resemblance to the estimate. This is far from being unusual. Local authories sometimes build owner fiats in this country which cost twice as much as when others try their hand at it. Some time back some nine tons of an item of naval stores were bought at Rs.26.320 a ton: later it was found the market price was Rs.720 a ton. A timber seasoning kiln was built once at a cost of Rs.296.000: it took seven years to build, and then it was abandoned. A donkey was recently in the news as having been retained at a cost of Rs.60,000. These things happen a tree sprouts and grows, puts forth many leaves and branches out in various directions. One has to pay for it all. Incidentally these are the fruits of bureaucracy!

Yours faithfully.

To

The Manager,

New Asia Assurance Co.Ltd.,

Karachi.

Dear Sir,

I took out a policy on my life and have been paying premiums regularly since July, 1989 through salary deduction scheme. But so far I have not received and receipt in acknowledgement of the receipt of the premium through my employers M/s K.S. Mangla & Co., Jhelum though they say that they have been for warding my premium to you regularly. Will you please look into the matter and issue me proper receipts?

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully.

M.M. Musa;

Policy No. 437826.

Respected Professor,

The term “non-violence” in modern times has become almost a creed for people in all spheres of life. Yet you will agree that violence many a time becomes indispensable. Could you kindly quote an example of non-violent violence?

Yours respectfully,

A Student.

Mr. Karim Akhtar,

Musa & Co.

Behind New Market,

Gujrat.

Dear Sir,

Regarding life Policy

With reference to your letter dated September 7, 1990 we enclose a duplicate copy of the following document-Policy No. 735001.

Please acknowledge receipt.

Yours faithfully.

Khawar Khan,

Region Manager.

Dear Student,

We have made a fetish of non-violence these days but we should not forget that violence or at least anger is one essential feature of human nature. We can does away with it only by denying our nature free expression. You know when men get angry much more than temper is lost, although what precisely is the additional loss has not yet been worked out in detail. This is probably because different men in fury react differently. Some go to places, being unable to contain themselves; some go mute, some wastefully and often futilely vociferous; others grow violent, and sometimes pitiably aggressive. The scowl the red face and the knitted brow typify the angry man as much as the stammer, dilated eyes, bouncing heart working nostril and trembling hands. These are the commoner symptoms of a rush of adrenalin, which may lead to active violence. A contrast is provided by the cold, calculating, eye flashing fury of the strong, silent type which is a rare and a fascinating thing to behold. May I quote an instance. The other day in an English town a motorist happened gently to bump into the rear wheels of a postman’s bicycle. The later calmly got down from his vehicle inspected the damage and, speaking not a single word, kicked in the head lamps of the car. The motorist, equally calmly and as the tight lipperd got out inspected the damage and jumped on the bicycle’s rear wheel. The cyclist than smashed the car spot light, whereupon the motorist picked up the cycle and threw it down with a bang. Having got back into the car he was about to drive away when the cyclist took out his pump and smashed the windscreen. It is said neither spoke a word in the entire course of this exchange. That is the puzzling thing about the story. That and the fact that neither had the guts or the folly to assault the their physically, both retaining their wits to restrict themselves to assault on property. Perhaps this is a higher order of indignation, the spoken world being the usual means of working it out of the system. How much more useful it would be, if present-day politicians take a cue from this incident and initiate a new theory of non-violent violence.

Yours sincerely,

Professor.

Dear Student,

If you want to come out successful in the viva voce examination, the cultivate a proper personality. This can be done through a long-sustained habit Good behaviour has to be made habitual, and habits take root in youth. A young man striving for a career can make or marked his habits without much effort. The more you get old the more difficult it would become to change habits. It is mostly on account of this that the Government has diefinite and unchangeable rules about the age of persons sitting in an examination. These rules cannot be relaxed expect in exceptional circumstances. The Government believes in catching the youth of the country young and moulding them to suit its requirement. Such of the students as give the cultivation of personality a little daily practice will sooner or later be rewarded by a successful career in Government job or in business. It is a pity that with most students, far too few actions are made into habits. This leads them to wasting a good part of each day thinking on things of which they should hardly be conscious at all. Going out for a walk early in the morning is a task for most student and they waste their energy out of all proportions to the nature of the task.

Yours faithfully,

Teacher.

Dear Professor,

We have generally heard of the three R’s Portial reading, writing and arithmetic. Don’t you feel that there is now need to enlarge this family of Rs. Could you therefore suggest a fourth R?

Yours sincerely,

A Hotelier.

Dear Sir,

You are well aware that the Government of Pakistan has been running a handiclip race ever since the achievement of freedom. Its path has been strewn not with flowers but with thorns. Latest in the series of difficulties has come the Indian aggression of our Eastern border. If we make a thorough study of Indian intentions in a series of events, the Indian motives become clear Ideologically the two countries are poles apart. The Indian habit of mind suffering from vanity and jealously has spread no effort to play up its own achievements in economic field and overtly run down our democracy. To achieve their aim, they have never hesitated from telling lies over a large network of radio T.V. and the Press. Since the world was for from convinced, they thought, in a moment of fit to invade Pakistan and establish their military supermacy. They thought, and rightly, that this will create terror in the smaller States in South-East Asia and expose Pakistans’ weakness in the sphere of military. This aim has been achieved. The India have done, within less than a month, what all the Western Powers as well as a large section of Pakistan public could not achieve over a decade. India have secured the people’s clear cut turnabout from a posture of neutrality to one of close association with the West. Many other factors have combined to inflate our currency so that the cost of living has gone up and the millions of Pakistanis are groaning are groaning under a heavy weight of misery. The indian attack will have a great after-effect on Pakistan’s economy since we must need shift our emphasis from economic to military fields. This will add to our difficulties. We hope to overcome our immediate difficulties, but permanent solutions must be found by he people themselves and this our leaders are determined to do.

Yours sincerely,

ABC.